In terms of a sequel which is ditto in theme but new in cast Jolly LLB is perhaps closest to the Dhoom franchise where the faces change but you know exactly what to expect from the films. And yet the two series can’t be further apart — no exotic locales, no designer clothes, no action pieces but a courtroom drama which operates primarily on wordplay and histrionic skills.
With the first film becoming a sleeper hit back in 2013, the sequel has got a jolly big star with Akshay Kumar getting into the black coat. His Jagdishwar Mishra is the new Jolly replacing Arshad Warsi’s Jagdish Tyagi, as the backdrop shifts from Delhi to Lucknow. The opponent also changes size and shape with Annu Kapoor taking over from Boman Irani.
The only character and actor being reprised is Saurabh Shukla as Justice Sundar Lal Tripathi who connects the two films with just one line: “Jolly ka naam sunke doosra Jolly ka yaad aa gaya.”
Director Subhash Kapoor, who’s also written the story, screenplay and dialogues just like in the first movie, takes the audiences through the exact same arc — an incompetent lawyer taking on a case which no one wants to touch and then making a match out of it against the corrupt and criminal tag team. Clean, innocent fun to start with, a heavy dose of emotion in the middle and finally a battle of wits and words to tie it all up — Jolly LLB 2’s narrative predictability ironically springs from the first film but that doesn’t make it any less engaging.
The court case here is against “super cop” Singh saab (Kumud Mishra), a veteran of 25 encounters. One of those shot dead was wrongly framed to free a terrorist and after his widow commits suicide, Jolly files a PIL in court. From Jhansi to Jammu, the case has its links in unknown quarters and as Jolly digs deeper and deeper, new witnesses and new crimes come to the fore.
But the case is just an excuse for Kapoor to pit his three actors — Akshay, Annu Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla — in confrontations that range from laugh-out-loud hilarious to boil-your-blood hateful.
While Akshay is effective as Jolly, he is not as much fun as Arshad. In a character graph which is absolutely the same, the comparison is inevitable and Akshay comes across as quite staid compared to the boisterous antics which made Jolly so endearing four years back. The solemn tone of the performance also steers the film into a zone more serious than it wants to be.
Annu Kapoor approaches his opposition lawyer very differently from Boman Irani and since he does so few films these days, it’s refreshing to see the veteran actor sink his teeth into the role and enjoy every moment of it.
But just like the first film, Jolly LLB 2 belongs to Saurabh Shukla’s Justice Tripathi, who’s added more colour since the last time we saw him. From practising his sangeet dance to Gulaabo for his daughter’s wedding to watering the plant next to the judge’s hammer every day to sitting on the ground in the middle of the court as counter-dharna, the man is completely believable doing the most unbelievable of things. And so, so enjoyable. Someone please make a web series on this judge.
Huma Qureshi playing Jolly’s wife Pushpa has one Holi song to dance to and a couple of scenes to hang around in the background. Kumud Mishra too has not much to do but is effective as the face of evil for the film. Sayani Gupta is terrific in the couple of scenes she gets. [The kid playing Akshay and Huma’s son seems to have got replaced for the last court scene!]
Jolly LLB had the novelty factor and a better lead performance while the sequel does have its moments and the honesty in the storytelling still shines through. And whenever the case starts to bore you, Justice Tripathi pops up as the “Teddy Bear” who makes everything okay.
I enjoyed Jolly LLB 2 less/more than Jolly LLB
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